Maui Jim 2007, Where Fashion Meets Performance With Some Hot New Styles

Want Fashion and Performance, Maui Jim Has What Your Looking For

Story By: Richard Thomas and Erin Zollars/Photos By: Sol Tucker

Once again, our staff at Pointed Magazine is dedicated to bringing its readers the hottest products for 2007. The staff at Pointed Magazine has reviewed all types of products in the past but here’s one again brings the hottest styles to the sunglass market.

We must admit we have been sleeping on the new Maui Jim sunglass designs over the past year or so, but as we found out from our latest round of reviews of the popular sunglasses, no one continues to match what Maui Jim puts on the shelves year after year. This time they have finally meshed the fashion with performance and delivered their hottest selection since we were first introduced to the products several years ago.

Our first pair of glasses that should be a hot hit ending the summer and going into the fall are the Nunui, which in Hawaiian means “Big,” and boy did they bring it on this pair of glasses.

If you have seen any of the celebrity spottings in magazines, on television, or even on TMZ, there is no way that you could have missed the influx of big sunglasses, but do those perform the way the Maui Jim glasses do? Most likely not. The Nunui combines a big frame with big dark lenses and a true fit that has the comfort to keep them on all day long. 

As we have done with all of our sunglasses in the past, we put them to the test to see if they pass the quality test that our staff demands.

Our first test was the opening and closing of the frames 2800 times. That was a lot, but after a season, who wants loose frames. After the testing they were as tight as when we first got them. With a polycarbonate lens and PolarizedPlus 2 technology the huge lens are clear and sharp.

The second test which they passed with ease was the accidental drop and scratch test.  This involved a light dropping from less than three feet 25 times. No scratching to the frames or the glass occurred in either dirt, sand and pure pavement.  We don’t recommend dropping these glasses, but should they accidently take a digger, no worrys, the product rocks, just like the look. These are pure Hollywood, Dollywood and a little Honolulu all wrapped up into one hot pair of glasses.

If you like the idea of having a matching pair of glasses with your significant other, these are Unisex and look great on both men and women. A great buy for $199.00

The second hottest pair of glasses are the Palms which seemed to be the heavy favorite with our female reviewers. Like the Hibiscus, the Palms are another classically styled frame with extra-large sides to help protect against wind intrusion. This frame also features Maui Jim's new SuperThin glass lens and Grilamid frames but is available in only two frame/lens combinations.

Under the drop testing, again we found no blemishes to the lenses and there was just one small scratch from a rock that was in a patch of dirt we dropped them into outside of our office. Most will like how light these glasses are in comparison to some others that are like these from other manufacturers. Another great deal at $199.00

For those who like “old school” check out the Maka, which is a sort of hybrid aviator style frame featuring a single, wrap around polycarbonate lens.

We found it interesting that this product is intended for both men and women even though it seems more feminine than the Hibiscus. The Maka is available in two frame colors, each with a matching lens. The gold frame in our opinion with HCL® (high contrast lens) bronze lens is the best selection they offer. The other color is a black frame with a neutral gray lens. The frame itself is a mix of Grilamid and Nickel/Silver alloy. The Maka retails for $269.  It’s meaning of sight or view is exactly what you get with these… You won’t want to take your sight off these new gems.

The Maka is probably the strongest of all of their products and withstood our 218 times of strong bending before they showed any signs of changing from their original shape. A very sturdy glass for the jet setter.

Again, we found the Maui Jim product flawless in our eyes, a real bang for the buck. They continue to deliver a quality lens that is the best in the industry and the also have listened and added the fashion style glasses for those who just want to hit the red carpet looking good.

For more information on all of the new styles visit Maui Jim's website at www.mauijim.com